THE SOCCER REPORT
Soccer Recap: Monterrey back at the top of Liga MX mountain, Zlatan returns to Milan
Dec 31, 2019, 6:00 am
Monterrey fans are celebrating the club's 5th Liga MX title, one month after seeing them play Club America in a friendly at BBVA Stadium in Houston.
As the calendar year comes to a close, European leagues have hit their midseason point while Mexican soccer crowned a new champion.
Liga MX Apertura 2019 Final
After a 2-1 Monterrey win in the first leg, a 2-1 win by Club America in the second leg sent the Liga MX final to extra time and penalties. It was in the penalty shootout that "Rayados" outlasted America, 4-2, to capture their fifth league title.
The win caps off a rollercoaster season where Monterrey fired their manager midseason, rehired former manager Antonio Mohamed (who has now won his third Liga MX title with as many teams as a Manager) and captured the final playoff spot to win the title. In the middle of their playoff run, Monterrey played Liverpool to a 2-1 defeat that could've easily gone their way in the FIFA Club World Cup.
The Clausura 2020 season kicks off on January 10.
English Premier League
The Premier League had the spotlight on them twice this week with the Boxing Day tradition gifting fans matches after Christmas. At the forefront of the PL talk was VAR (video assistant referee) decisions due to a number of goals being called back.
Top six: 1. Liverpool (55), 2. Leicester City (42), 3. Man City (41), 4. Chelsea (35), 5. Manchester Utd (31), 6. Tottenham (30)
Bottom three (relegation): 18. Aston Villa (18), 19. Watford (16), 20. Norwich City (13)
Scoring leader: 17 - Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)
Assists leader: 12 - Kevin De Bruyne (Man City)
Scottish Premier League
A second-half Nikola Katić goal gave Rangers a first win at Celtic Park in 9 years, making it a two points difference in the title race.
Top three: 1. Celtic (52), 2. Rangers (50), 3. Motherwell (37)
Bottom two (relegation): 11. Hamilton (18), 12. Hearts (13)
Scoring leader: 13 - Odsonne Edouard (Celtic)
Assists leader: 9 - James Forrest (Celtic)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic returns to A.C. Milan
#IZBACK 🔙🔴⚫ Read the story of how football has been Zlatan'ed in our focus on @Ibra_official 👉🏻… https://t.co/F7LtQl08mj— AC Milan (@AC Milan) 1577528163.0
One of the bigger news over the Christmas break was the announcement of Zlatan Ibrahimovic returning to Serie A with A.C. Milan. The Rossoneri are currently 11th in the standings, 14 points removed from fourth place and a Champions League spot that used to be a given for the seven time European champions.
MLS offseason
Welcome, @AlonsoDT! The Uruguayan becomes first ever coach of #InterMiamiCF, and is the only coach to win the Con… https://t.co/f2Zay3p7vF— Inter Miami CF (@Inter Miami CF) 1577722283.0
David Beckham's Miami expansion club announced the signing of Uruguayan manager Diego Alonso. The 44-year-old enjoyed success in Liga MX by guiding Pachuca to the Clausura 2016 title, the 2016-17 Concacaf Champions League title and a 3rd place finish at the 2017 FIFA Club World Cup. He guided Monterrey to Concacaf Champions League crown earlier this year before being fired midway through the Apertura 2019 season.
Houston Dynamo sign two players
Sources tell me that midfielder @marcelopalo has come to terms with @HoustonDynamo . The former Dynamo Academy play… https://t.co/DW28jtSuIy— Glenn Davis (@Glenn Davis) 1577712104.0
The Houston Dynamo are reportedly about to announce the signings of former Dynamo Academy and youth U.S. National Team midfielder Marcelo Palomino and young European goalkeeper Marko Maric.
TV listings (All Times CT):
Wednesday, January 1
6:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Brighton vs. Chelsea (NBC Sports)
9:00 a.m. - [Premier League] Southampton vs. Tottenham (NBC Sports)
11:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Manchester City vs. Everton (NBC Sports)
2:00 p.m. - [Premier League] Arsenal vs. Manchester United (NBC Sports, Universo)
Thursday, January 2
2:00 p.m. - [Premier League] Liverpool vs. Sheffield United (NBC Sports, Universo)
Friday, January 3
12:00 p.m. - [La Liga] Valladolid vs. Leganes (beIN Sports)
2:00 p.m. - [La Liga] Sevilla vs. Athletic Bilbao (beIN Sports)
Saturday, January 4
6:30 a.m. - [FA Cup] Rochdale vs. Newcastle (ESPN+)
9:00 a.m. - [FA Cup] Fulham vs. Aston Villa (ESPN+)
9:00 a.m. - [La Liga] Getafe vs. Real Madrid (beIN Sports)
11:30 a.m. - [FA Cup] Wolves vs. Man United (ESPN+)
11:30 a.m. - [FA Cup] Leicester vs. Wigan (ESPN+)
11:30 a.m. - [FA Cup] Manchester City vs. Port Vale (ESPN+)
11:30 a.m. - [La Liga] Atletico Madrid vs. Levante (beIN Sports)
2:00 p.m. - [La Liga] Espanyol vs. Barcelona (beIN Sports)
Sunday, January 5
8:00 a.m. - [FA Cup] Middlesbrough vs. Tottenham (ESPN+)
8:00 a.m. - [FA Cup] Crystal Palace vs. Derby (ESPN+)
8:00 a.m. - [FA Cup] Chelsea vs. Nottingham Forest (ESPN+)
10:00 a.m. - [FA Cup] Liverpool vs. Everton (ESPN+)
12:15 p.m. - [FA Cup] Gillingham vs. West Ham (ESPN+)
1:30 p.m. - [Serie A] Roma vs. Torino (ESPNews, ESPN Deportes)
Monday, January 6
8:00 a.m. - [Serie A] AC Milan vs. Sampdoria (ESPN+)
8:00 a.m. - [Serie A] Juventus vs. Cagliari (ESPN+)
1:45 p.m. - [Serie A] Napoli vs. Inter (ESPN+)
2:00 p.m. - [FA Cup] Arsenal vs. Leeds United (ESPN+)
2:00 p.m. - [Coupe de France] Linas Montlhery vs. PSG (beIN Sports)Most Popular
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The Houston Astros kick off a pivotal weekend series against the Boston Red Sox on Friday night at Fenway Park — and they'll do so with a familiar face back in the lineup. Carlos Correa, reacquired in a stunning trade deadline move on Thursday, is set to make his return to the Astros and will hit cleanup in his first game back with the team that drafted him No. 1 overall in 2012.
Correa rejoins a Houston club that sits atop the AL West at 62-47 and is coming off a resounding 9-1 win over Washington on Wednesday, fueled by Jose Altuve’s four-hit performance. The Astros are 27-23 on the road and enter Friday with the fourth-best on-base percentage in the American League (.321).
The Red Sox, meanwhile, have won six of their last 10 games and hold a 34-21 record at home. Boston enters the weekend third in the competitive AL East at 59-51. Outfielder Jarren Duran has been a spark plug, hitting .265 with 29 doubles and 12 triples on the year.
Houston will send right-hander Hunter Brown (9-5) to the mound, while Boston will counter with RHP Cooper Criswell (1-0).
Friday marks the first meeting of the season between these two clubs.
All eyes will be on Correa’s return in a stadium where he’s delivered countless postseason moments. Now, he begins the next chapter of his Astros career, joining a team counting on him to help fuel their playoff push.
Starting lineup
So how will Joe Espada deploy his new toys? Pena is back at shortstop and leading off, with Altuve hitting second and serving as the DH. Jesus Sanchez gets his first Astros, start hitting third, and playing left field. Correa begins his Astros reunion hitting fourth and playing third base.
Big night in Beantown.
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— Houston Astros (@astros) August 1, 2025
Yainer Diaz (C) will hit fifth, followed by Christian Walker (1B), and Taylor Trammell (CF). It's interesting to see Cam Smith hitting so far down the lineup at eighth. He'll play right field and finally, Mauricio Dubon will hit ninth and play second base.
Betting odds
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Astros -134, Red Sox +113; over/under is 8 runs
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